David Good Reunites with his Mother in the Amazon Rain Forest – Posted 11/16/16
The Legacy Project, an interdisciplinary initiative at County College of Morris (CCM) that delivers engaging lectures for faculty, staff and the community, will present its second event of the 2016-17 academic year on Latin America. The event features a special lecture and book signing by David Good, son of a prominent American anthropologist, Kenneth Good, and a Yanomami indigenous woman, Yarima. The event is brought to CCM with the support of the Citizenship Under Siege initiative.
At age five, Good saw his mother leave the family’s home in New Jersey and never come back. Twenty years later, he embarked on a journey to her indigenous homeland and reunited with his mother in a remote village nestled deep in the Amazon rain forest of southeastern Venezuela.
The event takes place Thursday, December 1, at 12:30 p.m. in the Learning Resource Center, Room 121, on CCM’s Randolph campus, 214 Center Grove Road. The event is free and open to the public.
In a passage from his memoir titled “The Way Around,” Good recounts, “During my stay with the Yanomami, I have realized that we have so much to learn and gain from such a great and proud people. Though my village has no written language, no calendar, does not count beyond two and is unaware of what is beyond their tropical borders, I have learned and experienced the essence of what it is to be human. The Yanomami, free from the distractions and woes of modern technology and societal strive, are intimately intertwined with the environment and have taught me genuine human interaction.”
“This year, the Legacy Project will continue to celebrate and explore the many cultures of Latin America,” says Professor John Soltes, co-chair of the Legacy Project. “More than 350 people attended our previous event, a performance by Ballet Hispánico’s BHdos company. Our next event is scheduled for March 21, featuring a local chef and Latin jazz band.”
The Legacy Project launched at CCM in 2013 with a panel discussion on civil rights. In 2014, the project hosted lectures by Joyce Johnson and Hettie Jones, two important figures in the Beat Generation movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2015, the project focused on issues surrounding genocide.
Visitors to this year’s event need to RSVP in advance, and on the day of the event obtain a parking pass from the Public Safety office (a campus map can be found here).
No more advanced reservations are being taken. Please visit www.ccm.edu for more information.